Our leadership team combines world-class scientists who are pioneers in perovskite technology and prominent business leaders with proven track records in leading start-up companies and in commercialising display materials.
Please click on a team member to see their profile.
Helio Leadership
- Chief Technology Officer
Bernard is an expert in perovskite materials and optoelectronic devices. In 2015, he joined Prof. Snaith’s group at Oxford University, recognized as a pioneering and world-leading team in this field. As a senior scientist in the group, he played a significant role in the acquisition and management of grant projects and supervision of graduate students, contributing to more than 30 scientific papers and patents. As a co-founder of HelioDisplay Materials, he has led the technical team since 2019.
Between 2009 and 2014, Bernard gained experience in private research at CSEM in Switzerland, where he became a senior R&D engineer. He played a significant role in the management and acquisition of industrial contract research and multi-disciplinary international projects, gaining significant expertise in optics, (bio)sensors and systems integration.
Bernard trained as a physical chemist and obtained a PhD degree from EPFL in Switzerland. He obtained an early-career fellowship to work with Prof. Friend at the University of Cambridge in the field of polymer optoelectronics.
- VP Engineering
Valérie has over 20 years’ experience in the research and development of light emitting devices for Sharp Corporation - a global leader in liquid crystal displays and consumer electronics. At Sharp Laboratories of Europe she led multidisciplinary R&D teams delivering new LED and laser device technologies for applications in lighting and displays. As senior R&D manager, Valérie worked extensively with Sharp’s Gallium Nitride LED production team on device modelling, fabrication and characterization. Most recently, Valérie and her team developed new quantum dot LEDs for emissive displays using solution processing.
Valérie has a PhD in Physics from the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis. She has gained a fellowship of Institute of Physics (IOP) and has been keen to share her career experience as a speaker at IOP events.
- Principal Chemist
As a principal material chemist, Nobuya has played a significant role in R&D in Helio Display Materials since 2019. He is an expert in material science, especially metal halide perovskites. As a postdoctoral research assistant, he joined Prof. Snaith’s group at Oxford University in 2014, contributing to more than 50 scientific papers and patents on perovskite materials for optoelectronic device applications.
Nobuya was awarded a PhD in Prof. Miyasaka’s group at Toin University of Yokohama. He was a JSPS Research Fellowship (DC2) in the field of surface modification of metal oxide for dye-sensitized solar cells from 2012-2013.
- Co-Founder, Board Director and Chief Scientific Officer
A Fellow of the Royal Society, Henry Snaith is professor at the University of Oxford’s Clarendon Laboratory, where he leads a research group in organic, hybrid and perovskite optoelectronic devices.
Supervised by Professor Sir Richard Friend, Henry gained his PhD at the University of Cambridge for research into organic photovoltaics. He then spent two years at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne as a post-doc, researching solid-state, “hybrid” solar cells. He took up his faculty position in Oxford in 2007, where he has conceptualised and pioneered highly efficient photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices based on metal-halide perovskites.
In 2010, Henry founded Oxford Photovoltaics Ltd, which is now successfully commercialising perovskite solar technology and where he is Chief Scientific Officer. He co-founded Helio Display Materials Ltd., in 2016.
Henry has won numerous accolades and awards for his research and discoveries in the field of metal halide perovskite optoelectronics. In addition to being listed as Clarivate Citation Laureate, he has the Patterson Medal from the Institute of Physics, has been listed in Nature’s Ten People Who Mattered, gained the Materials Research Society’s Outstanding Young Investigator Award and the EU-40 Materials Prize from the European Research Society. In 2015, he earned second place as one of the World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds, in October 2017, was awarded the Institute of Physics James Joule Medal and Prize for the discovery and development of organic-inorganic metal-halide perovskite solar cells, and in 2018, he received the inaugural UK Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists.
- Co-Founder and Board Director
World-renowned for research into physics and engineering of carbon-based semiconductors, and Cavendish Professor at the University of Cambridge, Sir Richard Friend pioneered the study of organic polymers and, more recently, the field of perovskites. His work has been applied to the development of polymer field effect transistors, light emitting diodes, photovoltaic diodes, optically pumped lasing and directly printed polymer transistors.
In 1992, Sir Richard co-founded Cambridge Display Technology Ltd (CDT) as a spin-out from the University of Cambridge, after discovering how to create organic electroluminescence from polymers (P-OLEDS). CDT was floated on NASDAQ in 2004 and was acquired by Sumitomo Chemical Company in September 2007.
Sir Richard was knighted for Services to Physics in 2003, is a Fellow of the Royal Society and of the Royal Academy of Engineering, plus Laureate of the Millennium Prize for Technology. He is also recognised for his work as a Foreign Member of the US National Academy of Engineering and as a winner of the Israel Institute of Technology Harvey Prize. In addition to numerous accolades and awards, he has produced in excess of 1000 publications and has registered over 60 patents.
- Investor Director (Longwall)
Kate has a PhD in Physical Chemistry from The Queen’s University Belfast and started her career working as a Laser Instrument Scientist at the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. In 2008 she moved into the technology transfer team, developing new spin-out opportunities from the Council’s IP portfolio and working closely with the portfolio companies.
Kate progressed through a number of management roles at STFC, most recently as Executive Director of Business and Innovation where she was responsible for all of STFC’s interactions with industry through technology transfer, partnerships and the development of the Harwell and Sci-Tech Daresbury Campuses.
Kate focuses predominantly on physical sciences opportunities.
- Investor Director (BGF)
Luke joined BGF’s London office in 2023, with a focus on the early-stage deeptech and life sciences portfolio.
Prior to BGF, Luke spent three years heading up operations and strategy at Wren Therapeutics, a drug discovery company focused on neurodegenerative diseases. Before that, he was an early-stage investor at Ombu Group, where he focused on climate tech, sustainability and life sciences investments.
Luke started his career at the Boston Consulting Group, working on strategy with senior management and boards, across the energy and life sciences sectors.
He holds a first-class BA and MSci in Natural Sciences (specialising in Physics) and a PhD in Biophysics from the University of Cambridge, where he led a range of projects focused on microfluidics technology and the biophysics of protein misfolding diseases.
- Investor Director (IP Group)
Lewis was awarded a PhD in materials science from the University of Cambridge for his work in the field of optoelectronics and electron microscopy. During his PhD, he co-founded CamGaN as CEO, a spin-out from Cambridge University. He continued to work there in corporate strategy, business development and fundraising after it was acquired by a leading British semiconductor company.
In 2016, Lewis joined IP Group where he is Managing Director, Greater China. He sits on the boards of several of IP Group’s Cleantech companies and develops strategic relationships with Chinese top tier financial institutions and corporates.
In addition to his PhD, Lewis has a BEng from Tsinghua University in China. He has served as Secretary General and Vice Chairman of the UK Tsinghua Alumni Association.